An overview of diabetes
– what is diabetes?
– why is insulin so important?

How do I know I have diabetes?
– diabetes symptoms
– how is diabetes diagnosed?

What treatment will I need?

Prevention of diabetes

Managing diabetes
– Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia
– Diabetes and Heart Disease
– Diabetes and Oral Health
– Diabetes and Eye Checks
– Diabetes and Footcare
– Sleep Apnoea

Managing Diabetes

A Multidisciplinary diabetes medical care is a team approach to providing diabetes support, education and care. Multidisciplinary diabetes care:

• Demonstrates shared leadership, accountability and responsibility for individualised planning of services and support to improve the quality of life for a person living with Diabetes
• Is comprehensive, holistic and integrated across the lifespan needs of a person living with Diabetes
• Is a collaborative team effort of health care professionals who are respectful and accepting of each other’s discipline specific skills, training, attributes and contribution to diabetes care
• Supports shared decision-making by valuing and respecting the contributions of each member of the diabetes team; the person with diabetes, their family or carer and other healthcare professionals

Who are the members of a Multidisciplinary Team for a Diabetic patient?

Healthcare professionals: Bariatric Surgeon, Vascular Surgeon, Dentist, Optometrist, Nephrologist, Gynaecologist.

What can a Multidisciplinary team approach achieve?

• Improved coordination of services
• Improved treatment planning and thus improved outcomes for Diabetic person and their families and carers
• Better detection and management of the psychosocial and emotional needs of Diabetic person and their family or carers
• Improved information sharing between the diabetes team member

Examples of who would require Multidisciplinary approach:

• People newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
• People with Type 1 diabetes (for carbohydrate counting and/or the use of insulin pumps/or continuous blood glucose monitoring).
• Children with diabetes.
• Pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy.
• Patients with significant and ongoing cardiovascular or peripheral vascular disease.
• Young patients with diabetes of an undefined nature.
• Patients with active foot ulcers or uncontrolled neuropathic pain.
• Patients with diabetes and renal disease or retinopathy requiring active management or complex monitoring.
• People whose risk factors for complications have been unsuccessfully controlled in primary care.
• Patients with recurrent hypoglycemia.
• Patients with neuropathy, especially autonomic neuropathy.
• Inpatient care.